Video games/literacy

[5614]

well obviously if you read less you will have less reading skills, but you've rephrased the original question.

someone can still play video games and love to read.... whats wrong with having two hobbies [games + books] and being good at both of those as well?

[Nevermore]

whats wrong with having two hobbies [games + books] and being good at both of those as well?

Nothing' date=' I do it. But I'm talking about people who play video games and do not read. Note how many times I said "... Video games [i']instead[/i] of reading...".

[5614]

people who play video games and dont read are at a disadvantage, however, if they werent playing video games it doesnt mean that they will read, they may be playing football or watching TV.... whilsts video games and no reading isnt too good, even if the video games werent there, doesnt mean that they would read.

[Nevermore]

I know, but I never mentioned it working both ways. Someone without video games is more likley to read, but someone with a book is not less likely to play video games.

[5614]

that is a generalisation, some people with a book and a video game may read the whole time and play on computer games occasionally [as a break from reading]. what really makes the difference is what the person prefers to do. in this day and age, most people prefer to play video games, you cant blame video games for being too likeable!

[Nevermore]

I'm not, I'm blaming the average person for being too lazy.

[5614]

then that is a personal thing and has nothing to do with video games, so i come to the conclusion that whilsts a video game may tempt someone from reading it is not the cause and therefore "Do video games decrease literacy rates?" NO

[drz]

How could it possible be obsolete. Are you saying that pretty soon all information will be passed on by word of mouth?

 

sorry, did not mean reading itself would be obsolete, but rather books.

 

I mean, we've got e-paper now, internet, palm pilots, cell phones, software that converts text files into mp3's, it is only a matter of time before people quit picking up books.

 

I mean, books are heavy. 1 good book could way 2 times more then a moderate laptop. This same laptop however, could contain hundreds of books.

 

And while reading allows one to use his imagination, what if you imagine wrong? A book that included e-paper would be able to display various moments in a story, helping ones imagination.

 

So, what will it be in 20 years? Carry heavy books to and from the library? Or carry a library on a sim card?

 

and the relevance of this ranting, would be that the people coming up with all these new gadgets, e-paper, palms, etc, are Atari, coleco, and nintendo vets.

[AL]

Nothing, I do it. But I'm talking about people who play video games and do not read. Note how many times I said "... Video games instead of reading...".

That's in all likelihood a spurious correlation. I thought you were trying to show that video games themselves contribute directly to illiteracy, but it would appear the more likely scenario is that lack of reading is the cause. In that case, lack of reading (and thus illiteracy) could be caused by any activity x; video games need not be singled out.

 

If you truly wish to find out whether or not there exists a causal relation between illiteracy and gaming, do a controlled statistical study. All this hypothesizing and asking for expert opinions from psychologists are no good if the empirical evidence doesn't back it up.

[Guest mobius1]

Hello there.

 

I often play computer games. I dont believe that it damages ones ability to read and write. In fact, I firmly believe that computer games can improve ones education in many areas, particularly (for me) in the history department.

 

I learned more history playing:

 

Shogun Total War

Shogun Total War - The Mongol Invasions

Medieval Total War

Medieval Total War - The Viking Invasions

 

Than I did in five years of secondary education.

 

I believe that computer games are actually the best form of education that some people can get, purely because they learn things while carrying out activities that they enjoy.

 

Naturally some computer games cannot provide any form of education and are built around bloodshed and violence but in my oppinion, computer gaming has more good points than it does bad.

 

Noel

[Rasori]

I agree with Mobius. And most games that are built around bloodshed and violence can still teach a thing or two.

 

Hmm... video games to literacy rates. I don't think so, because gaming is something that requires the eyes in many forms. Most times it requires reading words somewhere or another.

 

I will say one thing that I don't think was mentioned: I think video games DO affect aliteracy rates. Most gamers are able to, but don't, read.

[zpoot]

i don't think it does...I LOVE video games..if they're worth wasting my time...but i still love to read and i don't think my vocabulary has been limited by video games. They do teach you in a way sometimes, especially if they're accurate. I hate it when my friends shorten EVERY SINGLE WORD! It's annoying, you can barely understand what they're saying. It's like another language. But I don't think video games will decrease your ability to write and read. It's mostly just laziness and a lack of will to learn...and i'm not saying that is why some people would be illiterate. Also books move more slowly, there's a lot of underlying hints and facts that people don't get or try to understand, they sort of want it to be told to them plain and simple. Video games will mostly tell you everything you need to know w/o you having to think aobut it.